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Thursday, February 4, 2016

Spokane's first freestanding ER completed, to open very soon

First announced back in May, Rockwood Health System and their contractors has been hard at work on a new freestanding Emergency Room. The freestanding ER is a spin off of Deaconess Hospital Downtown and acts a full emergency medical facility. The facility is located in North Spokane, just south of The Y at 8202 N. Division and just north of Discount Tire.

The building, which is 12,700 square feet, has now been completed but Rockwood is still awaiting final approval to open the site to patients. That approval, however is expected soon, meaning they could open for business as soon as this weekend. The new ER will offer 15 private rooms , 2 triage rooms, a few exam rooms, an on site lab and imaging equipment.

This is the first freestanding ER, separate of a hospital in the Spokane area, but far from the first as this is a trend that has been opening up all over the US. In fact, another facility is already in business in the Tri-Cities area. The reasoning is most ER visit don't result in being admitted to the hospital, most cases are usually treated and released . Should a patient of this new ER need hospital admittance, transportation to Deaconess ( or any hospital ) will be provided. Also in the event of a larger emergency the new ER's site is equipped with a helicopter landing pad for MedStar or Lifeflight.

Since this new freestanding ER acts as a satellite facility to the main hospital, it will have short wait times. They plan to have wait times of under 30 minutes at all times.

This is not the only recent expansion for the Rockwood Health System. As not too far away from the new ER is Rockwood's new Cancer & Blood Specialty Center. That new facility is located at 309 E. Farwell Rd. Suite 100. Other developments are also happening as Rockwood tries to keep up with the growth of their main competitor, Providence Health.